A fire outbreak has destroyed a portion of the Kofar Kudu palace occupied by the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II. The incident occurred around 11:00pm on Friday.
Chief of etaff to the emir, Munir Sanusi Bayero, Dan Buram Kano, confirmed the incident in a statement.
He said, “On Saturday morning, July 13th, 2024, a fire incident occurred at the outer court of His Highness’s Palace, Kofar Kudu. Fortunately, there were no casualties, and the damage was minimal,” he said.
Bayero assured the public that the palace was taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of the premises and its occupants.
“We are investigating the cause of the fire and taking steps to prevent such incidents from happening in the future,” he added.
Our correspondent reports that authorities are yet to confirm any foul play as investigation is still ongoing.
The palace has pledged to enhance security measures and implement preventive strategies to avert any future occurrences.
The affected Emirate is called Gidan Rumfa and is founded by Emir Muhammadu Rumfa and is located in the ancient city of Kano and was originally constructed in the late 15th century.
The affected palace is the one located at Kofar Kudu, where traditionally, the emir holds court on Mondays.
A palace source alleged that the fire must have been set by some unidentified persons who forced the doors open to set the palace ablaze.
Having achieved that, they then locked the burning palace after destroying the throne of the emir, air conditioners and other valuable items within the palace.
The Kano State Fire Service at the time of filing this report said they it was not informed about the incident, as no distress call was placed. The state police command did not comment on the incident, saying the emirate had already issued a statement to that effect.
